Forum Discussion

klutchdust's avatar
klutchdust
Explorer II
Sep 20, 2019

Michelin kaboom! Michelin tire update!

Tire was built 3rd week of July 2014, 32K miles left rear inside. That makes it a 5 year old tire.

proper inflation and coach is within weight guidelines. Driving on the freeway and without warning kaboom!

Lots of damage underneath that I am repairing now. A tire separation really damages things. My repair will include my own upgrades underneath to lessen the carnage should it happen again.
Check your tires. Age, not tread left determines their usefulness.

Class C
  • pnichols's avatar
    pnichols
    Explorer II
    Oct 13, 2019
    LOG wrote:
    The Defender LTX M/S has not been discontinued. But it has been discontinued in the size 225/75R16 LRE.


    Rats .... the Defender has also been discontinued in the size I use on my E450 Class C for better ground clearance and dually interspacing - 215/85R16 LRE.

    I guess I'll have to give the 215/85R16 LRE Agilis a try at tire replacement time.
  • LOG's avatar
    LOG
    Explorer
    Oct 12, 2019
    The Defender LTX M/S has not been discontinued. But it has been discontinued in the size 225/75R16 LRE.
  • klutchdust's avatar
    klutchdust
    Explorer II
    Oct 12, 2019
    My friend is a dealer and Michelin was unable to send him any. America’s tire same thing and tire rack.
    The Agis looks nice . The defender date code was late 2018 and the Agis last month.
    I have read production stopped in April this year.
  • pnichols's avatar
    pnichols
    Explorer II
    Oct 12, 2019
    klutchdust wrote:
    Found out the Michelin "defender" is out of production, the replacement is the Agilis. Slightly different tread design. I now have all rear tires replaced.2 new defenders and 2 new Agilis. The rears were worn 50% based on my tire depth gauge and the fronts 60% .

    I already purchased the defenders and later decided to replace all four. Within a week the defender was not available. Slightly different tread design but who cares.


    Hmmm ... they seem to still be available on Michelin's website ... what dealer told you they weren't?
    https://www.michelinman.com/all-season-tires/defender-ltx-m-s.html

    I have six Defender LTX M/S Load Range E tires on my Class C and assume I can replace them with the same when the time comes. They have been outstanding tires so far.
  • klutchdust's avatar
    klutchdust
    Explorer II
    Oct 12, 2019
    Found out the Michelin "defender" is out of production, the replacement is the Agilis. Slightly different tread design. I now have all rear tires replaced.2 new defenders and 2 new Agilis. The rears were worn 50% based on my tire depth gauge and the fronts 60% .

    I already purchased the defenders and later decided to replace all four. Within a week the defender was not available. Slightly different tread design but who cares.
  • js218's avatar
    js218
    Explorer
    Sep 28, 2019
    Changed my Michelins at 2.5 years and 149,000 miles no cracks just wear. Put 10 Michelins back on,8 XDN2 drives, 2 X line Energy steers.
  • Dakzuki's avatar
    Dakzuki
    Explorer
    Sep 28, 2019
    Sometimes bad stuff happens. Did you contact Michelin. They may be interested.
  • lane_hog's avatar
    lane_hog
    Explorer II
    Sep 25, 2019
    Our dry-rotted Michelins were 2004's so no free tires for us. And as Powertour said, they just don't last in dry climates...

    Since then, I've tried BFG's, Uniroyals, but Coopers are the keepers.
  • LOG's avatar
    LOG
    Explorer
    Sep 23, 2019
    NWboondocker wrote:
    LOG wrote:
    We had Michelin tires on a 27 ft Winnebago class A motorhome. They had dry rot cracks on the sidewalls. They were less than 3 years old with less than 12,000 miles. The motorhome was parked under cover on gravel. The tires were not covered, were not aired up to maximum, and motorhome was not moved for the last year owned.
    Our current class C motorhome has Michelin tires that are five years old with 33,000 miles and have no dry rot on sidewalls. The motorhome is store inside, on concrete, driven every two months or less, driven at 65 mph or less in hot and cold weather, aired to maximum psi on rear dual tires, and weight is under GAWR and GVWR.
    Maybe just a coincidence?

    Were the cracked tires part of the '10-'12 Michelin recall? Our used class C had them and the sidewalls suddenly went from good to badly cracked around year 3-4. Replaced with 7 (incl. spare) free new Michelins which we're still running.


    No. The tires were 19.5 wheels. The tires were put on in March of 2012 and the motorhome was sold in July of 2014. The dealer who sold the motorhome on consignment would not list the motorhome for sale until we put on new tires. They said they would not sell a motorhome with dry rotted tires.
  • NWboondocker's avatar
    NWboondocker
    Explorer
    Sep 23, 2019
    LOG wrote:
    We had Michelin tires on a 27 ft Winnebago class A motorhome. They had dry rot cracks on the sidewalls. They were less than 3 years old with less than 12,000 miles. The motorhome was parked under cover on gravel. The tires were not covered, were not aired up to maximum, and motorhome was not moved for the last year owned.
    Our current class C motorhome has Michelin tires that are five years old with 33,000 miles and have no dry rot on sidewalls. The motorhome is store inside, on concrete, driven every two months or less, driven at 65 mph or less in hot and cold weather, aired to maximum psi on rear dual tires, and weight is under GAWR and GVWR.
    Maybe just a coincidence?

    Were the cracked tires part of the '10-'12 Michelin recall? Our used class C had them and the sidewalls suddenly went from good to badly cracked around year 3-4. Replaced with 7 (incl. spare) free new Michelins which we're still running.

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